


How We Came

by ficdirectory



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Child Neglect, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2020-01-01 01:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18326243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficdirectory/pseuds/ficdirectory
Summary: Jesus and Mariana first arrive at Stef and Lena's.  Brandon adjusts.  Callie and Jude's life at their bio home and their first move into foster care.





	1. Beginning

Mariana doesn’t remember leaving. But Jesus does. Because he left first.  
  
They were little. Four. Their mom was gone. It was just them. It was always just them. And it was always up to Jesus to take care of Mariana. Even though they were twins, he was older. Those few minutes always meant something to him. They meant he had a place in the family. Something that was a responsibility.

He knew about responsibility before he knew what the word really meant.

Because back then, responsibility and love felt the very same.

He remembered the way she grabbed at his clothes - at his hands - and begged him to stay with her. How she cried because she didn’t want to be left alone.

The only thing worse than being alone was when their mom was there.

And what if she came back and Mariana was by herself.

“Hide,” he’d said. “Going over there,” he pointed to show her he meant the neighbor’s apartment. “To see if they got any food.”

“No! Sorry, Jesus! Cause I’m not even hungry anymore! Just don’t go! Don’t leave!”

“Stop! You gotta be quiet, so you can hear if I yell run or something, kay? Here. Hold Night-Night,” he’d said and then sneaked out of the apartment.

On both sides, the doors were open. But inside one he heard TV noise. Inside the other was quiet. He opened the door and walked to the kitchen. It was dirty like theirs, but he opened their fridge. His mouth fell open. His stomach growled. They had a little bit of milk. Some bologna. Jesus had taken out the bologna and shoved it under his shirt.

“Hey!”

Jesus had jumped and dropped the bologna. He tried to run but the man grabbed him. He tried to yell for Mariana to run but his voice didn’t work. It felt stuck inside him.

Then there were police.

One asked where his mom was. He shrugged.

They asked where he lived and the neighbor person tattled and said where Jesus lived. They went in, and looked around. Jesus couldn’t see Mariana. She was hidden very good.

“Who’s looking after you, son?” the police asked.

“Me.”

Jesus still felt kind of stuck. He couldn’t tell them he hadn’t seen their mom for a lot of days. Police wanted to get their mom. Put her in jail and be mean to her.

But four was big enough.

He was thinking about that, and about Mariana when the police said, “You’ll have to come with me.”

Then Jesus came unstuck and fought. They might put him in jail if they couldn’t find his mom. They might be mean to him in there. Put him in with bad guys.

“No!” he screamed. “Run! Mariana! Run!”

He saw her come out of a corner and run straight into another police.

Running didn’t help. Fighting didn’t help. And Mariana just screamed and screamed a whole bunch of times. Nothing helped.

They got put inside the police car. He squeezed onto Mariana’s hand very hard. She was still holding her Night-Night, and her pants were wet like sometimes when she got scared or couldn’t hold it.

Jesus swallowed. “Are we getting ‘rested?” he asked bravely.

“No, buddy. We’re taking you and your sister somewhere safe.”

Jesus swallowed and held Mariana’s hand even tighter. He didn’t know what that meant, and neither did Mariana.

–

It turned out somewhere safe was a stranger’s house that looked nice and had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk. Jesus gave Mariana one first. And then he took his own.

They ate a bunch.

Until they felt very sick, but didn’t say.

They ran to the big glass door that slid open and were outside 'cause big people were inside and that was the rules. They could be inside when no big people were, but if their mom had people over, Jesus and Mariana had to be out.

The stranger man tried to get them back inside but Jesus screamed and fought and punched. The stranger lady got Mariana and stole her Night-Night and made her take a bath, when they didn’t even take baths that much.

Mariana screamed and Jesus tried to break down the bathroom like a super hero but it didn’t work. When it was Jesus’s turn, he ran as much as he could to get away. When he stopped and the stranger man got him, Jesus threw up all over.

Mariana got her Night-Night back, but they had to go to another somewhere safe.

–

When they were five, they moved a bunch and got used to it, sort of. Bill was the real one in charge of them. He came to get them whenever they were bad and took them to another somewhere safe.

But things always happened.

The new strangers told Jesus and Mariana they had to sleep in different bedrooms. So they sneaked in each other’s and Jesus got up in the night to be sure there was still food.

They ran away when the new strangers told them they couldn’t go outside alone. Because the rule was go outside if big people are inside. But what should they do when the big people followed them? Or made them come in?

Running made sense.

But running made them have to move.

So did being hyper, and getting up in the night to eat or check on food or talk. So did fighting and bad words and having accidents. And Jesus not letting the new strangers do anything for Mariana because that was his job. He was her brother.

They moved a lot a lot before the last new strangers dropped them off at the police.

That was when they met the very first nice police named Stef. She gave them suckers. She made them laugh. While they waited for Bill, she stayed and talked to them about how she was a nice police who protected kids and made sure no one hurt them.

Then she stayed and talk to Bill.

And after a lot of time, Bill said they were going to Stef’s house.

This time when Bill said somewhere safe, Jesus believed him. And when he looked at Mariana, who still held onto her Night-Night in the back seat of Bill’s car, she nodded.

Jesus squeezed Mariana’s hand and felt like, maybe, everything would be okay this time.


	2. Accusation

When Lena brought Brandon home from first grade and he saw his mom with the two little kids, he stopped short. “Who are they?” he asked.

“Brandon, this is Jesus, and this is Mariana,” his mom introduced. “Can you say hello?”

“Hi,” Brandon managed. Then, he nodded for his mom to follow him. After she introduced them to Lena, she followed him to his room and closed the door.

“Are they gonna live here, too?” he asked. The last time his mom brought somebody home it was Lena, and next thing he knew, Lena was living with them.

“For a while,” his mom nodded. “Look, B. They don’t have a home right now, okay? Do you think they can share ours for a while?”

“Just for a while?” he checked. “Because I know I said I wanted a brother or sister but I meant, like, a baby. How old are they?”

“They’re five.”

“Both of them? How?”

“They’re twins. Listen, honey. If you’re not okay with this, we can work something out.”

“Lena told me you were bringing some kids to live with us if it was okay with all of us.”

“Is it okay with you? You know, just because they’re here doesn’t mean we love you any less.”

“Mom…” Brandon rolled his eyes. “I know. You said that when Lena moved in before. I know we have enough love and stuff. We can share some with them. It’s not really fair they don’t have any. Or a house.”

His mom leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “You’re a great kid, you know that?”

“Yeah, you tell me that all the time.”

“So, what do you say we go make sure Jesus and Mariana feel welcome?”

“Okay.”

–

Making Jesus and Mariana feel welcome was harder to do than when they usually had guests over. Plus, Lena had told him, if Jesus and Mariana stayed they wouldn’t be guests. They’d be part of the family. But all they wanted to do was sit on the couch by each other and watch everything.

At dinner, they ate every single thing on their plates, even the peas, which Brandon knew were the worst vegetable in the world. Lena asked if they wanted more, and both of them put their plates out.

They ate more than Brandon knew any five year olds could eat.

And then they got sick.

That was worse than peas. Brandon excused himself to go to his room.

–

In the middle of the night, he heard footsteps in the hall outside his bedroom and his heart beat fast. It took him time to remember Jesus and Mariana lived there now. He didn’t know how he could have forgotten. Mariana had cried forever at bedtime, and Jesus wouldn’t let his mom or Lena or him near her. Neither one of them really talked. Jesus yelled, mostly, and tried to fight people who got too close to them.

Brandon crept out of his room and to the kitchen where Jesus was standing in front of the open refrigerator. The back door was open, and there was a kitchen chair over by it to help them reach the high door lock.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Jesus answered. The first real words he said since being there.

Brandon watched as Jesus stood and stared at all the food. Then, he jumped when he heard Mariana calling from outside.

“Jesus. Come on.”

Brandon didn’t think, he just turned to go wake up his mom and Lena.

–

“Mom! Jesus and Mariana! I think they’re running away!” Brandon whispered.

His mom got up right away and so did Lena. They found the twins in the back yard in their pajamas, sitting close in the dark.

Brandon stayed by the back door and heard his mom talk to them softly.

“Hey guys. What are you doing out here?”

Brandon saw their shadows move. Jesus stood in front of Mariana blocking her.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad. But it’s very late right now and you need to be in bed. Can you tell me why you’re out here?”

“Rules,” Jesus croaked, like he was scared.

“I see,” Lena commented. “Can you tell me the rules? What are they?”

Brandon leaned closer. He felt wide awake now, and wanted to know the rules, too.

Jesus didn’t talk, but for the first time, in front of other people, Mariana did. “Grown-ups-inside-kids-outside. Or kids-inside-grown-ups-outside.”

“I understand,” Lena said, in that soft way she had. “And I understand it’s very confusing for both of you, coming to new houses and learning new rules. But to you remember what Stef and I said about permission?”

“No,” Jesus said and Brandon almost laughed because he didn’t expect Jesus to say that.

“We said one rule in this house is to ask Stef or ask me before you go anywhere.”

Mariana didn’t say anything and neither did Jesus. So, Brandon stepped out and tried to help. “They mean that, here the rules are grown-ups and kids all together inside, or all together outside. Right? Because kids need grown-ups.”

“That’s right,” his mom said. “Now let’s get you three to bed.”

–

It turned out, Mariana and Jesus didn’t get how to play at all. Brandon tried to share his Rescue Heroes and Legos, but they just wanted to play with Mariana’s blanket. It was old and didn’t smell too good, but Brandon didn’t tell them that.

When they played with it like a parachute and it knocked into Brandon’s Legos, he tried to be patient.

“Excuse me,” he said, like his mom and dad (and Lena) taught him. That meant he needed space.

But Jesus and Mariana just kept giggling with each other and crowding him even more. Soon the blanket was covering part of his city. So he took the corner and tossed it toward them.

He didn’t expect it when Jesus jumped on him. Or when Mariana did the same thing, screaming in his ear the whole time. The only time she stopped was to bite him on the shoulder and pull his hair.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed, fighting back tears.

“Don’t touch her stuff,” Jesus threatened. “Or I’ll kick your ass.”

Brandon’s eyes widened, just as Lena rushed in from the bathroom, where she’d been for just a second.

“Hey, hey! What’s going on here?”

“Nothing,” Brandon said, even though his shoulder and his head hurt, and even though he was scared of what Jesus said.

Lena stayed with them for the rest of the time, so Mariana and Jesus had to keep their hands to themselves.

–

It was a long time before his mom found out, because Brandon was good at keeping secrets. He never told when his dad drove him home in the car when he was drunk once, because if he told, he wouldn’t be allowed to see his dad ever. But when he was getting in bed, the big tee shirt he slept in slipped down, so she could see his shoulder.

“Honey, what happened?” she asked, sounding worried.

He shrugged, remembering Jesus’s words. He felt embarrassed being scared of five-year-olds, but he was. “Nothing,” he said.

“Brandon, who bit you? You need to tell me. Jesus and Mariana are here so they can be safe, but you need to be safe, too.”

“They probably don’t know any better…” Brandon admitted, and he didn’t know why he said that. He should have just said they beat him up - that Mariana bit him - but he couldn’t.

“Well, Lena and I can’t help them know better unless you’re honest right now. Did the twins hurt you?” his mom asked.

Finally, Brandon swallowed, and nodded.

His mom brought him out to the living room and then called to Lena, Jesus and Mariana to come, too.

“Did you bite Brandon?” his mom asked, showing them the bite mark on his shoulder.

“No,” they said together, lying.

“Well, Lena and I know not to bite, and Brandon didn’t bite himself,” his mom pointed out.

Mariana started looking like she might cry.

“Fine, I did it. It was me,” Jesus said.

“We do not hurt people in this house. Do you both understand? Jesus, apologize to Brandon.”

“He didn’t bite me,” Brandon insisted. “It was Mariana. He just told me he’d beat me up if I touched Mariana’s blanket, which I only did a little to give it back to them!”

“No!” Jesus screamed.

“I didn’t!” Mariana echoed.

“Okay,” Lena interrupted. “Mariana. Look at me in the eyes.”

Brandon watched, as she did.

“Did you bite Brandon? Yes or no?”

“Yes…and I pulled his hair…” she said. Brandon hadn’t forgotten that. His head still kind of hurt from it.

“Now come over here, please,” Lena told her. Hesitantly, Mariana did. At the same time, Jesus jumped to his feet, and screamed.

“Fine! I don’t even care anyway!” Then he ran. Brandon’s mom went followed him, while Lena taught Mariana how to apologize. Brandon got this lesson, too, but he had been a lot younger than Mariana. He already knew to look someone in the eyes and say sorry in a calm voice. Then do something nice for the person you hurt.

Brandon couldn’t even hear Mariana very well because Jesus was making so much noise, yelling and throwing things and insisting he was leaving. He kept yelling, “Call him! I don’t care one thing about you guys! We’ll go away and you’ll never see us again!”

Brandon listened from the kitchen as his mom talked to Jesus and told him that no one was leaving and everything was okay.

But it was a long time before Jesus calmed down.

And it was a long time before Brandon could fall asleep that night.


	3. Restless

Nighttime was scary for Mariana. Because it was when the bad dreams happened. She tried to stay awake, but she wasn’t very good at that.

She wasn’t very good at a lot of things. So a lot of things scared her.

Not this house, though. This house was the first house Mariana ever lived in that she kind of believed when Stef and Lena said no bad things would happen to them here. They helped her and Jesus learn all the new rules about the house. Mariana liked the Everybody Together rule best of all. Because it meant she didn’t have to worry about being left with nothing to eat, or play, and without any grownups. That was her old life, but sometimes, like today, she had to visit her real mom, and that made the old life come back. That’s why she didn’t want to sleep.

Because she was always allowed to come and get Stef or Lena if she was scared, Mariana waited until she felt brave, and had her Night-Night on like a cape and then sneaked inside their room. It was all-the-way dark, and Jesus and Brandon and Stef and Lena were all sleeping. Everybody but her.

“Hey,” she whispered, right next to Lena.

That was all the brave she had inside, so Mariana turned and ran back out. She walked around all the whole house, until her body started feeling tired. She thought about going into Jesus’s room but rooms meant privacy and privacy meant knock first, and knocking might wake Jesus up.

So she found crayons and paper, and drew pictures until she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

–

When she fell asleep, everything was scary. The scariest ever. She dreamed of being taken away. And of bad things from Before that she didn’t ever talk about, because of the other rules. From her mom.

Nothing could stop the bad things or the taking away so Mariana screamed and screamed. It didn’t help. It never did. But she still did it because she couldn’t help it.

When she woke up, it happened slow. She heard lots of voices. Jesus, mostly. He said, “I got her. It’s okay. I got her.”

Other voices. Stef and Lena. They told him in a soft way that they were the moms and moms took care of kids and made sure they were safe.

“No…brothers do that. Brothers take care of sisters. Right, Mari?”

She nodded but couldn’t talk.

It was like she cried and didn’t know anything about it. Tears were on her face, but she nodded, and went closer to Jesus. He understood about everything. About dreams.

Her whole self was shaking and she was wet. And that made her scared even though New Rules said that everybody has accidents and nobody’s allowed to make fun of you. She still felt scared about it. Sometimes people hurt her for that. Even after a long time of not hurting her. Even after they said sorry. Even after they promised to never do it again.

She held on very tight to Jesus.

“Jesus…” Stef said. “Mariana looks afraid. What can we do to make her feel safe? Can you tell us?”

Jesus bit his lip and looked at Mariana, his arms were still tight around her. Then he told Stef the very same thoughts inside Mariana’s head. That happened sometimes, because they were twins. That meant they were the same. Except Jesus was a boy and Mariana was a girl.

“Not get mad. Not yell. Not hit her,” he said, his voice like a whisper. “You can hit me. Get mad at me. Yell at me,” he swallowed. “But not her. Don’t hurt my sister.”

“I want both of you to look at our faces,” Lena said, her voice gentle, like a hug.

Slowly, Mariana turned her face so it wasn’t pushed against Jesus’s arm.

“Do we look mad?” Lena asked.

Mariana shook her head. She was the best at reading faces. And bodies. And people when they didn’t talk.

“That’s because we’re not. New rules, remember? Nobody gets hit. Ever. Everybody makes mistakes, and when we make them, what happens? What do the new rules say we do?”

“Fix it?” Mariana asked.

“That’s right. You’re so smart.” Lena said, and Mariana looked away. “What’s one way we can fix this?”

Mariana’s face crumbled. She knew she was a bad girl. She felt so bad she couldn’t even say sorry. But Lena slowly reached out a hand until Mariana went into her arms.

After a lot of minutes, Stef and Jesus left and Lena and Mariana picked out new pajamas and underwear. Then Lena sent Mariana to the bathroom to change all by herself because privacy.

When she went back inside her room, her bed magically changed into new sheets and blankets that smelled nice. And lucky, too, she forgot her Night-Night in Stef and Lena’s room so it never got wet.

Lena helped her bring all the wet clothes to the laundry room, and then they washed hands and went back to the bedroom.

Mariana stopped in the doorway.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“Sleeping makes me have bad dreams…” Mariana said.

“What if I stayed with you? Do you think you could sleep then?”

“And keep them away?” Mariana asked, still worried.

“Of course. That’s what moms do.”

“Not all moms… Mine and Jesus’s real mom didn’t.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. But I will. All right? Lay your head down.”

Mariana did, but couldn’t feel tired. “I don’t wanna go to kindergarten. ‘Cause I won’t have friends. And I don’t know how to do homework…”

“Shhh,” Lena whispered. Then she started singing. It was a song in Spanish words, and it made Mariana feel warm inside.

“How do you know that Spanish?”

“I learned it a long time ago.”

“Because you knew you were gonna get me and Jesus? And be our mom?” Mariana yawned.

“Maybe…” Lena smiled, rubbing Mariana’s back. “Maybe in my heart, I did.”


	4. Snowflake

Having a little brother was supposed to mean good things to Callie. For a while, it did, too. Because Dad stayed at home with them for a long time. He never went out when Jude was a baby. And when Dad stayed with them, Mom was happy. And that meant Callie was happy, too. Even though she was only three, she shared her happy feelings with Jude by giving him bottles whenever Mom let her, and playing with him.

Jude was born in winter, and that reminded her of snowflakes. Mom said babies are special and beautiful just like snowflakes. And Callie never forgot that.

Except now, Callie’s six and Jude is three. They share a room, and Jude keeps her awake, even when she has school the next day. Now their dad is going out a lot again. When he comes home late at night, him and Mom have fights. They yell and it’s loud. Jude cries, and Callie lets him come to bed with her, so he’s not scared.

In the morning, the dinosaur alarm clock goes off and Callie gets up to get ready for school. She’s good at school. She’s the best in class at listening and following directions, even if she doesn’t always get the best grades. Even if reading is very hard at first.

When she comes home, she finds a big mess in hers and Jude’s room. All her Barbies are out and have marker colored all over their dresses.

“Jude!” she yells.

“What?”

Callie stomps out holding a doll as proof. She can see on his face if he tells a lie. “Did you wreck my Barbie’s dress?”

“No…I made it purple.”

“Don’t touch my stuff!” she yells and pushes him back a few steps.

He gets off balance and falls, his eyes filling with tears. He’s not really hurt…just his feelings. But still he gets up and cries, “Mommy! Callie pushed me!”

“You tattle-tale!” she shouts.

Callie follows Jude more slowly and finds Mom in the kitchen starting dinner. She’s stopped now, though, and is giving Jude a hug.

“Did you push your brother?”

“No…” Callie lies, biting her lip. “But look what he did! He colored on my Barbie!”

“First of all, we tell the truth in this house. Always. Even if it will get you in trouble. Because the most important things in life are your family and the truth. So I’m going to ask you again…did you push Jude?”

Callie takes a deep breath, but can’t make herself say it, so she nods instead. “I was mad.”

“We use our words in this family, young lady. Not our hands. And we never hurt each other. This is your brother. He looks up to you to set the example.”

“But he hurt me! He messed up our room and took out all my stuff”

“I understand that, but you know to come to me if a problem is too big for you to handle, don’t you?”

“It wasn’t!”

“Anything that makes you angry enough to hurt your brother is too big for you to handle. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Callie pouts.

“And Jude,” Mom says, turning to him. “Where do we use markers?”

“Paper.”

“That’s right. So you’re going to pick up the mess you made. And you’re going to say sorry to Callie.”

“I’m sorry,” he replies like he’s this nice all the time, when Callie knows he’s not. He’s really naughty.

“I don’t forgive you,” she says stubbornly. “And I’m not sorry.”

–

That night, Callie’s in bed, and Jude’s in the same crib that used to be hers. Until they can buy another bed for him, he sleeps in there, He doesn’t think it’s bad. He doesn’t know it’s really just for babies.

She thinks about how she helped her mom make biscuits and gravy just to have because. She thinks of what her mom told her, while Jude was cleaning up toys: “One day, you and Jude are all each other will have. You know, Dad and I won’t always be around.”

“Not ‘til we’re big, though, right?”

“I hope you’re right. My point is, Callie, that it’s important to forgive. And be sorry. Three year olds make a lot of mistakes because they don’t know as much as six year olds. Or moms and dads.”

“I’ll think about it,” she had sighed, because that was what her dad said all the time when her mom gave him advice.

They listen to the bedtime CD that says Jude’s name in it. Callie waits until it’s all done and then whispers. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry I pushed you. And I guess I forgive you.”

He doesn’t say anything for a long time, and Callie thinks he must have fallen asleep.

“Callie?”

“What?”

“Do you got a purple dress? For that Barbie?”

“If I find you one, do you promise not to color on anymore of their dresses?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Night. Love you.”

“Callie? You’re never gonna leave, right?”

“Right. I’ll always be with you.”

“Okay. Then I love you, too.”


	5. Haze

The first time they move, Jude barely remembers.

He just remembers that their mom is gone. Someplace better. Their dad’s gone, too. Not someplace better. Jail. It’s like a long timeout if you do something very wrong. But Callie is still here. That’s good, ‘cause she promised she would never leave.

Callie’s been kind of scaring him. Like when she wrecked her room after the accident? She keeps blaming him for it, even though she did it. He doesn’t tell her she’s wrong because it feels like that would be mean. She believes it a lot inside.

Now, they’re at a different house and Jude keeps forgetting the names of the people. He stays quiet and lets Callie talk. Lets Callie take care of him. Because she knows him. The people don’t know him that much. They don’t know he likes to listen to Magic Treehouse books on CD when he falls asleep, not listen to the people read books out loud.

It doesn’t make him feel good. Because he doesn’t know them. And before-bed he’s supposed to relax. But now he can’t.

You know what else?

Before-bed he’s supposed to have a snack. Him and sometimes Callie if she wants one. Cereal mostly. On special nights, ice cream or a root beer float and a movie.

There are no more special nights.

And there are no snacks before-bed.

So Jude goes to bed very hungry. He can’t sleep. And he can’t talk to Callie. So he just stays awake, until he can’t. In the morning, he isn’t hungry anymore. But he’s crabby.

He doesn’t know the people. They don’t know the important stuff about being Jude. Like, his favorite books are Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse. Like, he’s a very good reader. Like, he doesn’t like ham. Or that his most secret special thing is his dad’s pocket knife that he keeps hidden because he doesn’t want it taken away. His teddy bear already got taken away. By another kid. Jude doesn’t like any kids except Callie.

On the way to his class at school is the only time he talks. And in school. Just away from the people.

“What’s the matter with you?” Callie asks. She gets grouchy, too. Because of all the reasons he is. No one knows her the same way their mom and dad knew her. Only Jude knows how upset Callie really is. Only he knows that she likes Spice Girls and make up, and girl things. Jude likes girl things, too. They’re pretty.

“Nothing. I’m hungry.”

“Didn’t you have breakfast?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t wanna eat with them. They watch me.”

“I know.”

“I wanna go home,” he says, even though he knows it won’t do any good. It just feels good to say it. So Callie knows about his feelings.

“No one’s there, Jude. It’s just us now.”

Jude doesn’t say anything.

Callie drops him off at first grade and promises to be there at the end of the day. Then, she says something that makes him so happy.

“I’ll get you a snack. Don’t worry.”

–

That night, after the people are in bed, Callie sneaks into Jude’s room and turns on the light.

He blinks and smiles. She has a bowl of Cheerios. The people only have boring cereal here, but his mom sometimes had boring cereal, too, and it sort of reminds him of her.

He’s eating it, sitting on the floor when there’s another voice:

“What’s going on?”

Jude jumps a little but keeps his eyes on the cereal.

“He was hungry,” Callie explains. “So I just got him this.”

“I won’t have kids in my house who steal.”

And that’s how they move the second time.

That time, Jude remembers everything.


End file.
